Quest for Power 3: Emerald Ender
by Konrad
Summary: Cerion abandons her personal thoughts to find out what really happened to Piccolo and Trunks... And in the process she confronts the first secrets of the Power Stone.
1. Ch 1: Survivors

**QUEST FOR POWER 3:**

 **EMERALD ENDER**

By Konrad

PART 1

"Come on, we can do it!" Chikitot exhorted cheerfully as the tribal people painstakingly moved a huge slab.

Even considering the Planet Tenkusen natives' relatively small size, the rock was still immense, the equivalent of several of the people in height and width. They relied on simple wooden cranes and levers, stone age quality by most other civilizations' standards, for such a considerable task. Still, the Tenkai people painstakingly tackled the problem. The half-charred piece of stone, marked by the recent events, was still mostly whole and re-usable. This was their homes and monuments that they needed to rebuild. At least they had someone of great power to help them.

"Clear!" Chikitot yelled out to the group that was moving the biggest chunk. As the people parted, the young girl took a meditative position. Closing her eyes, she levitated off the ground and, when she re-opened them, her bright yellow pupils had completely disappeared under a light blue glow. It contrasted with the dark blue markings on her clay-colored face, a large vertical band that went from her dark hair to her chin and, on each cheek, a spiral. Amazingly, she happened to be even smaller than the diminutive Tenkai, her young age notwithstanding. Slowly, the big chunk of rock floated and moved to its designated spot, the foundations of the devastated temple. This was only the latest of dozens of interventions just today by Chikitot in using her powers to aid the blue-skinned Tenkai in rebuilding their home planet, shaken up by the 'big people'.

The religious complex was huge and ostentatious, especially given the natives' modest means. It was located in a flattened plateau encased by narrow peaks, occupying an area several kilometers from north to south and almost as many east to west. An assortment of a dozen medium-sized pagodas lined the periphery of the clearing, and interspersed between them were columns, stupas and other various monuments with carved-in frescoes of vegetation. In the middle of all this was the main temple, a rectangular copper-colored building elevated in stages, dwarfing all the others in height. It lay now partly gutted on one side, the gaping hole in it extending into the surrounding ground area. This also had the effect of revealing the temple complex's true nature: a large hidden underground labyrinth of hallways, tunnels and alcoves. In past times, it used to serve as the monastery and also the holding ground for the treasure responsible for its current state.

After the huge slab was successfully moved, Chikitot took a deep breath and wiped away the cascading sweat from her forehead. From her vantage point at the base of a hill just outside the temple grounds, she could survey the progress being made. Partly thanks to her, thousands of Tenkai had rushed from all over the planet to help their local brethren in the reconstruction efforts. Two of the tribes folk stood near Chikitot. One was a bald old man, slightly taller than the average for his race, with a moustache and a long pointed beard that reached down to his knee. The other was a scrawny young man, barely an adult, with short silver hair.

Chikitot looked on serenely at the scene ahead of her. Then, pumping a fist in the air, she jumped up enthusiastically.

"Whoop whoop! We're doing it, yay!" She exclaimed loudly in excitement.

"Oy, I really wish she wouldn't do such childish things, Eldest Koan!" The younger Tenkai lamented as he smacked his forehead. "That's quite inappropriate for a Goddess!" His older counterpart chuckled.

"Well, what did you expect from one who's barely left childhood, young Elder?" Koan replied. "Besides, it's not hurting anyone, isn't it? How should you judge what a Goddess is allowed to do?"

"It's simply unbecoming!"

"Yahoo! Let's get these rocks to the left and we're in business!" Chikitot continued hollering.

"Um, my Goddess, your exhortations are, I'm sure, very encouraging to everyone." The younger Tenkai ventured timidly. "However, might it possible to perhaps temper them a bit…?"

"Shut up, Tufan!" Chikitot snapped without a look back. "I'll say whatever I want and in whatever way I want to."

"B-but, my Goddess, you have a stature to maintain! One such as yourself…"

"Like I said, one such as myself can do anything they fancy!" Chikitot laughed. Tufan's mouth was agape in scandal.

"This is an outrage!"

"Please forgive my colleague's language…" Koan sighed.

"I've forgiven this clown plenty lately! Maybe I should perform my Goddess duties and smite him good!" The girl's mood turned again as she pointed an accusing finger at Tufan, who quickly cowered behind the older man.

"That said, I do see a point for caution." Koan continued. "There are now several rumours about that comet two nights ago."

"Ah, and I went to the supposed landing spot at your insistence and found nothing to indicate an impact." Chikitot sighed. "Remember, comets and meteorites can disintegrate as they enter the atmosphere, or they blow up, or whatever, blah blah blah!"

"Yet, no one reported any such thing." Koan countered. "Something should've crashed into the ground… or perhaps it was again a spaceship. More big people, perhaps?"

"Impossible! No one saw a ship move away from that area." Chikitot turned her sights back to the temple grounds. Her childish grin turned to a frown carved from too much experience for her relatively small number of years "Besides, from what I can tell, there's nothing for us to do right now. We especially don't know what Piccolo got into, so we barely have any idea what's going on…"

At those words, Chikitot felt suddenly uneasy. She gave quick glances around her, searching for something without knowing what.

"Perhaps it is time to return to our village." Tufan suggested.

Nodding silently, the little girl finally approved of at least one of Tufan's utterances this day. Lifting up from the ground, the three of them took flight, heading west. They flew a long while and when they were far from the temple, Chikitot exhaled a deep breath, relaxing visibly.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by an abrupt shimmering in the air immediately ahead, forcing the trio to stop in mid-flight. The weird atmospheric display coalesced into the form of a tall, raven-haired woman adorned in gold-coloured armour, a jewelled crown and a purple cape. The new arrival flashed a predatory grin at Chikitot, whose eyes bulged in recognition and terror.

"Well now, it's been a while, Tiny Princess!" The woman said.

"Waaaahhh! C-Cerion!" Chikitot gasped.

"Another big person!" Tufan cried out. Koan was also briefly taken aback before narrowing his eyes.

"When the hell did you get here? I should've sensed someone familiar like you!" Chikitot said.

"Well, Skylight's got some pretty nifty cloaking capabilities." Cerion replied haughtily and a much larger mass of air shimmered as before to reveal her ship, the Skylight. "I've been here a couple of days and you never noticed."

"Wait, so it wasn't a comet that came that night but you?!"

"That's right. Now I want to know all you know about Piccolo."

"Eeep! Here I go!" Chikitot screeched and she blasted off into the sky.

"No, you're not going anywhere!" Cerion yelled as she leapt up and flew after Chikitot.

The smaller Goddess zig-zagged frantically to try to throw off her pursuer. But in spite of that, Cerion quickly managed to close in to within a few meters.

"Just give up, will you!" The elder Goddess yelled.

Abruptly, Chikitot stopped, turned in mid-flight and threw her hands in front of her towards Cerion. Cerion was momentarily surprised but didn't slow down, anticipating Chikitot was going to launch an attack.

"Kaisekeiko!" Chikitot cried out and the air before her hands rippled like waves. Cerion lunged at her.

Suddenly Cerion was no longer facing Chikitot but was instead staring at the ground and plunging towards it. She barely had time to widen her eyes and a moment later she crashed, head first.

"What the hell...?!" Cerion exclaimed out loud as she struggled to her feet, broken rocks littering around the crater formed from her impact. _What was that... wait, I've seen this before and the last time... her species' special ability is to alter the sense of drift of living beings. So they can slowly have a plant lean in another direction. But with Chikitot's level, she can either do that to something almost from across space... or, something right in front of her will change direction altogether. She's not too bright though or didn't have time to think, she simply sent me in the very opposite direction I was heading in._ Cerion reasoned as she watched the small Goddess speed away. A plan quickly formulated itself in her mind and she launched herself again in pursuit.

Once more, Cerion closed the distance with Chikitot in spite of the latter's best efforts to throw her off course. But this time she watched liked a hawk for a giveaway sign. It came when Chikitot slowed down, almost abruptly if Cerion hadn't been paying attention except she was, and turned around. Taking a chance, Cerion spun around even faster away from the short Goddess. She wouldn't have time to see the shock on Chikitot's face as the smaller Goddess had already launched her technique when she turned to face Cerion. The spell that would change the direction Cerion was facing to its opposite, so that Cerion ended up once again facing Chikitot. She immediately threw a hard punch and Chikitot crashed into the ground. Satisfied, Cerion hovered down to the impact site. _At least this didn't have to drag too long!_

"Ouch! You don't have to hurt me so bad!" Chikitot cried as she slowly got up, a hand to the back of her head.

"Impressive, Little Princess. Though like our last fight years ago, still not enough."

"Oh sure, because an abduction is a legitimate fight to you, obviously!" Chikitot sneered as she crossed her arms. Cerion stopped to glance at her awkwardly.

"Stranger, I can tell that unlike some of our recent visitors, you are of the same breed as our Goddess, and maybe more." Koan spoke as he and Tufan landed near the two women. "Still, it is my humble request that no harm be done to her, lest all our people should come to bear upon you."

"Careful, Eldest!" Tufan said, cowering behind his steely elder.

"What is this? You got a whole cult to worship you, Chikitot?" Cerion asked.

"I decided I'm the protector of this whole sector, and I'll be damned if you ever touch anyone's hair, Cerion!" Chikitot growled.

"I never said I would do something like that, unless I really have to!" Cerion shot back defensively. "Listen all of you, if you need that I apologize for intruding on your planet, then I will do that. I will apologize also for hiding and spying on you. And you, Chikitot, I know I can't apologize enough not just for now and for everything between us but rest assured I will try. But I have more important things to deal with. A Power Stone has been unleashed here, I felt it! That must be dealt with as soon as possible, damn your thoughts of fairness. Even I had to abandon something… personal… to come here."

Chikitot shot back a glance at Cerion, eyeing her warily. Then she gave a sigh.

"It ain't that simple." She spoke. "Mainly because I don't think there's anything we can do until this whole picture clears up with this 'Emerald Ender'."

"Emerald... what?" Cerion replied.

"Emerald Ender. You know, the legend that turned out to be true. You can't have been here these last couple of days and not heard about it."

"Well, I overheard some nonsense being mentioned but I don't see where this is getting at..." Cerion replied, frowning.

"The so-called Emerald Ender is the emerald-colored being whose coming will usher in an era of incomparable destruction!" Tufan added ominously. Cerion's face didn't change.

"What he said." Chikitot scoffed. "Anyways, what do you think this Emerald Ender is?"

"Piccolo...?" Cerion whispered as a dreadful thought dawned on her. Emerald-colored? Even if the Earth-bound Namek's power wasn't the highest, it was enough that he could wreak much havoc in the galaxy with a Power Stone involved. And if that were to foreshadow worse things to come...

"I guess we really got to fill you in on what's been happening." Chikitot sighed.

 _Ten days ago, Planet Mesata._

"Come on, it's gotta be near… Aaack! Damn…"

For all the good flying was doing for him, Trunks may as well have been crawling. After getting assaulted by Dudan, the boy now had a fractured left leg and at least a few broken ribs. He flew, or rather barely hovered, occasionally spewing the blood that filled his lungs. Undeterred by his weakened condition, Trunks focused on searching for a faint power that he could detect.

"Almost… there!" He exclaimed.

He descended in a barren space, chunks of landscape littering the area. There amidst the rubble laid a battered body.

"Piccolo! Piccolo!" Trunks yelled out as he kneeled beside his comrade.

"Hey, I can hear you fine with these ears…" Piccolo replied hoarsely and he forced out a smile. His skin was seared and purple blood oozed out of numerous gashes.

"Heh, oh really? You looked dead enough to me." Trunks mocked back. "You ran into Dudan also?"

"Yeah, he was way too strong."

"Yeah, he was something else. But for a minute there it seemed like you could beat him, I sensed your ki rocket up!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Piccolo retorted dismissively, then he relaxed. "Did you sense everything else that happened?"

"I think so." Trunks replied. "I felt Gohan fight Dudan… and his power then shot up too."

"Yes but it was different than any other time. It seemed like an external power came to him."

"Maybe the Power Stone? I think Chen said it can be used on anybody to augment their powers."

"Hmmm, probably…" Piccolo recalled for a moment and took a pensive look.

"What are you thinking of, Pic… Wait! Did you feel that?" Trunks exclaimed. A deafening rumble emanated from underneath, then the whole earth moved. "Damn, that's way too loud for a battle… Oh no!"

As the rumbling and shaking intensified, the landscape moved and shifted increasingly. Then when the quake was becoming unbearable, they saw the first signs of the planet's end. In the distance, entire mountain ranges lifted up in the air, then turned into giant rock slides and crumbled. The ground split open in a giant fissure and spires of lava erupted.

"Shit!" Piccolo cursed. "I knew it, Gohan used way too much power. The planet is going to blow up!"

"Blast it, to think we barely lived against Dudan, just to die like this now…" Trunks reflected, discouraged.

"No, I'm not going down like this!" Piccolo growled. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Red electric arcs raced across his body, as he grunted loudly above the pain and in concentration.

"Piccolo, your power is going wild..." Trunks gasped in shock.

"Stay close to me! Brace yourself!" Piccolo yelled.

As Trunks huddled closer, red energy poured forth from the Namek, first unevenly, then flowing constantly. Before Trunks understood what was happening, the pouring energy flowed across over a dozen meters all around both warriors. It then became extremely dense, lifting them by a couple of inches off the ground. Then abruptly the energy coalesced into two. One part formed a translucent red shell or shield around the pair. The other part formed a similar curved field, broken by the ground below, facing away from them. It looked less strong than the one directly surrounding them.

"Piccolo, you didn't..." Trunks started, but then all hell broke loose around them.

Planet Mesata, in its final death throes, rocked and shook tremendously. The blasts nearly claimed the two heroes' hearing. The ground around them and everywhere erupted. The weaker outer shield that was facing away barely held for a moment before shattering, but it served its purpose. By containing the explosion in a tight space by the warriors, it increased its strength a hundredfold where they were. They were almost instantaneously projected into space, crossing hundreds of thousands of kilometers in a matter of seconds, with Piccolo's shield barely holding to cover them from the explosion and, now, the vacuum. Behind them, Planet Mesata was nothing more than a giant exploding fireball.

"What… have you been doing, Piccolo?" Trunks asked breathlessly.

"Don't talk too much." Piccolo replied with his voice coming out between sharp intakes of breath. Sweat pearled on his forehead. Putting and maintaining the shield under their circumstances pushed his power to the limit. "We're not out of trouble. I maybe merely bought us more time…"

Trunks nodded in understanding and stopped talking altogether. With their advanced training, their bodies could make more efficient use of the oxygen inside their bubble but it would still run out eventually. Piccolo had traded them certain death for a small chance at life or a chance at a more horrible death. Trunks could barely come to terms with the fact that they had survived so much at least so far.

 _Impossible._ _Even if he learned that from the Androids, this is on another level compared to them._ The Saiyan boy thought warily of the Namek. _How strong has Piccolo become? How much more stronger can he be?_

Those thoughts were cut off at the sights that unfolded before them after being launched into the cosmos. Thousands of ships, in an unorganized cloud of flight, had evacuated from Planet Mesata after the initial attacks and were making their way to the next closest base. Further off, small groups of ships exchanged weapons fire as the Jubian military still kept Dudan's forces busy. Trunks wondered briefly if someone in all those vessels might've noticed an inconspicuous red ball of energy speeding by, much faster than any known debris from Mesata.

But the two warriors barely had time to entertain those thoughts or to take in the view. With their momentum, it took them less than an hour to overtake the largest groupings of the space ships in flight. They could also make out, in the distance, the other three planets that made up the star system. Another hour or so and they were out of the system all together. Everything was darkness now, with specks of distant stars so far away. Piccolo and Trunks were now flying through the emptiness between star systems.

Trunks briefly mused aloud on how this wasn't like traveling inside Yoshuro's vessel or any other ship for that matter. Piccolo nodded at the obvious comparison. But the warriors were still overwhelmed. Away from any star and atmosphere, they were barely protected from the freezing temperatures and the lack of pressure. They had no food and the oxygen inside would eventually deplete. They had been deprived before though, so this was simply to a greater extent than anything else. What was new and unsettling for our heroes was the feeling surrounding them. The cosmos seemed incredibly huge from within the small metal confines of a ship. The feeling was unbearable now with just a sliver of energy between them and the harsh vacuum. They even became uncomfortably aware that, between the stars, they couldn't feel any kind of gravity.

So they drifted almost aimlessly, the solitude and emptiness attacking, with the knowledge that they would eventually run out of air. Occasionally Trunks would break the silence, sometimes with a joke. Sometimes Piccolo would acknowledge, even if often all he did was grunt in response. It helped to keep both of them from going insane, yet it didn't seem like it would end, except it could end inevitably in Piccolo's shield collapsing from the Namek's exhaustion. Minutes blended into hours and hours into days. Trunks reckoned they had now spent about three days in space in their bubble, with almost no prospect of surviving at this point.

"I don't suppose you have miracles left?" Trunks asked. Piccolo half-groaned, half-mumbled something incomprehensible. The Saiyan hadn't expected an answer anyway. He withheld a sigh.

"What was that?" Piccolo suddenly spoke up, his brows furrowed in concentration.

"What?"

"There's… something… or someone… like a presence in my mind. Speaking to me in my head..." Piccolo tried to explain, himself confused. Then his eyes bulged in amazement. "We're changing direction! It's really small but I can feel it."

Trunks merely nodded back slowly. He could only wonder how Piccolo could feel that in space. Though it seemed Piccolo strangely shifted in a blink of an eye. Several hours passed as the pair continued to drift. Trunks tried several times to get Piccolo to be more specific but the Namek was adamant that he didn't know what was going on either, even though he was the one experiencing it. All Piccolo knew, he asserted, was that someone, a telepath perhaps, had been mentally probing him and this person had somehow changed where they were going. Piccolo had sensed the subtle but abrupt shift in his body. Perhaps it changed their course by a few degrees, but in space that could be the difference between ending up in a different star system or drifting in the endless void between galaxies.

It took a couple of hours until Piccolo and Trunks could clearly make out where they were going, a light orange star. Trunks thought it looked smaller than the Earth's Sun. As they got closer, they could make out three orbiting planets.

"There…" Piccolo eventually said softly as they approached one of them, a mix of blueish purple patches amidst brown and green shapes. It definitely felt like they were in the right direction. "The presence in my head feels stronger… It's here."

"Whoever that is…" Trunks replied. "And we might finally be saved…" Suddenly they were shaking violently, the outside of the shield lighting up into a ball of fire as they penetrated the atmosphere. "Piccolo?!"

"The entry… it's too much…" Piccolo muttered through gritted teeth.

The protective bubble rumbled about and Trunks was tossed inside. Barely able to stay focused in the tumult, he looked over to the Namek for signs of hope. Instead, Piccolo's eyes were squeezed shut in concentration and his forehead glistened with sweat as he desperately tried to hold the shield together and slow their course. A movement caught Trunks' eye and he saw a bright broken line snaking along the shield. It was a crack that rapidly grew and multiplied, their protective egg about to break open.

"Piccolo!" Trunks yelled.

"No... Damnit! I can't hold...!"

With a thunderous crash in their ears, the bubble exploded around them. Trunks found himself flung out in the air, twisting and spiraling uncontrollably.

Trunks screamed in vain again for Piccolo. The Namek, also ejected, was already too far away, spinning out of control himself. Meanwhile, Trunks hurtled through the top reaches of the atmosphere and then through gigantic dark clouds. After a few seemingly unending seconds in the cold damp formation, Trunks burst out of the bottom of the clouds and into a dark violent rain storm, still thousands of kilometers up in the sky and too weak to control his descent.

"Damnit! I gotta do something or I'm done for." The young Saiyan thought out loud.

Trunks frantically reached down deep inside of himself, searching for any remaining energy and stamina within that wasn't already depleted from all the fighting and the space travel. Grasping his last strands of power, he projected every bit of his ki outward into a blazing aura. If he couldn't form a shield like Piccolo, at least a mass of energized air could cushion the impact of the fall. After several more agonizing seconds of falling, the descent finally predictably ended in an explosion, sending debris everywhere and creating a large crater. Trunks grunted and panted in pain, his aura had absorbed precious little of the impact. His left elbow was dislocated, his head throbbed and his vision blurred. He lied, unmoving, at the bottom of the crater.

 _That's it._ Trunks thought. _I can't take anymore. After all that, is this it?_ His eyes seemed heavy as they slowly shut themselves.

Abruptly Trunks re-opened his eyes in shock. _What was that?! It can't be!_

"Father!" He screamed. _That ki, so familiar… it's definitely him! Who are those other powers with him? How did he get to wherever here is? Doesn't matter. Father, I'm here!_ Trunks thought frantically. He could feel his presence far away, at least several kilometers, but Trunks focused on projecting his remaining power, ignoring his fatigue and pushing past his limits. Finally he sensed Vegeta's ki move towards him. Painful, excruciating minutes past as Trunks strained to maintain his dwindling power as best as he could. He let go when he felt that his father got close enough. _Yes, here I am… That should do it, I can't go on anymore._ He closed his eyes as he rested his head on the ground, for the first time in a long while he afforded himself a small smile.

After a few minutes, loud engines' roaring could be heard above the sound of the pouring rain and the ground rumbled before settling down. A few moments more and a wave of relief rushed over Trunks as he felt three people walk towards him. Two strangers and a ki matching Vegeta's… _Wait a minute!_ Trunks eyes shot open. He suddenly remembered what he was pushing away in the back of his mind, the feeling earlier that something wasn't quite right. _It's close to my dad… but it's not my dad?!_ He thought in alarm.

"Father?!" Trunks said faintly, raising his head to look at three total strangers ahead of him. The one in the lead was a woman, somewhat short, long hair that flowed down in spikes behind her. Her power matched almost exactly that of Vegeta. And she looked down on him with an annoyed expression.

"Who the heck are you calling 'Father', you brat?!" She asked.

END OF PART ONE


	2. Ch 2: Strange arrivals

**QUEST FOR POWER 3: EMERALD ENDER**

By Konrad

PART 2

Kita gritted her teeth as she stared down the youth facing her. Perhaps he could've been addressing one of her other companions, a male, but he was clearly looking at her as he uttered those words. She was vaguely aware of her furry tail unwrapping itself from her waist and making furious swishes from left to right and back.

Back straightened, her head slightly tilted backwards even though she had to look down at the stranger, Kita made the most of her height, being almost a foot shorter than anyone present. Her face, a bit slender and long with a short, pointed nose, was framed by long spiky hair that started at a high forehead, ending just below her shoulders and which was a shade of blue so dark it was almost black.

"Who the heck are you calling 'Father', you brat?!" She snarled.

The young man blinked in confusion. He wiped his long lavender hair, now thouroughly soaked from the rain, from his face. His unusual clothes, golden boots over gray pants and a dark loose jacket over a black tight shirt, were heavily tattered and singed. A longsword with a black hilt was lodged in an orange scabbard strapped to his back.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you felt like someone... Wait, what's that?!" The stranger pointed frantically to Kita's mid-section. Puzzled, she looked down to her body. She was covered in a standard issue armor with large protective pads for shoulders and thighs. While most of the armor was dark, the pads were in bright blue, her favourite colour. Her tail had finally settled itself back around her waist.

"What are you..." She started.

"That! Your tail, you're Saiyan!" The youth exclaimed as he pointed, his eyes wide.

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing that, Koomba?" Kita spoke as she turned to the other female in her group.

"Thirty years on. And Freezer died a couple of years ago, too." Koomba chuckled and she crossed her arms over her prominent chest which was barely contained by her armour. Her outfit, unlike the full battle style worn by Kita and their male companion, was the partial lighter model with no lower body protectors, and coloured brown. But like them she sported white gloves and boots and a scouter on her left eye, while her furry tail kept itself mostly wrapped around the waist. Her auburn hair, streaked in grey, shot out in various directions in spikes. She towered above everyone present, probably a head taller even than the stranger, and he was the only one who was more muscular than her. Her face, almost square with a wide jaw and more handsome than beautiful, showed faint lines of aging.

"There really are more of us, I can't believe this!" The youth exclaimed.

"Are you implying you're a Saiyan too, child?" Kita asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, my name is Trunks, from the planet Earth." The stranger explained as he struggled to sit up. "I'm half-Saiyan. My father is Prince Vegeta."

Kita's eyes bulged and her companions gasped loudly.

"What... did you just say?" She muttered through gritted teeth.

"That's right, my father is Vegeta, the Prince. He was taken away by Freezer before he destroyed our race but..."

"What?!" All three Saiyans roared simultaneously. Kita's tail swished violently behind her.

"If you let me explain, him and a couple of others, Nappa and Raditz, were already in Freezer's army..."

"Not that, you little piece of shit." Koomba growled.

"Enough!" Kita yelled. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then leaned over Trunks. "You look nice enough and you seem to think you know a lot."

"What are you talking about? I'm telling you the truth, I..." Trunks protested but Kita held a hand up to shush him and suddenly flashed him a broad grin.

"Enough of that. You're in no good shape right now, so we'll help you out. We'll take you to our base. However..." Kita's grin disappeared as quickly as it came, to be replaced by a menacing glare. "... it'll be as our prisoner. After all, you can't be too careful. And anyways, I don't believe you."

Before Trunks could react, Kita did a chop of her hand to the back of his neck. He promptly crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"The nerve on this child! He calls himself a Saiyan? And that Freezer killed us?!" Koomba exclaimed incredulously.

"I wish there was a way I can tell if that at least is true, if he has Saiyan genes. Though Nappa was a general in the old days, I think. That might be in the historical records." The male of the group finally let out more than one or two consecutive words. Relatively scrawny and of average height, he had a tuft of spiky black hair shooting upwards at the top of his bald round head. His armour sported orange accents. Unlike the two women however, who had no need for weapons, he had a large laser rifle strapped to his back.

"What do you think, Kibatsu?" Kita asked the man. "Is this what we're looking for?"

"Ah, it's hard to say, your Highness." Kibatsu replied, tapping a few buttons on his Scouter. Kita suppressed an exasperated sigh at the word 'Highness'. "It seems this Trunks is at least stronger than yourself, maybe as strong as Koomba. But he's not nearly as strong as the power we registered earlier, less than half, even though he appeared on our sensors at the same time. Whatever it is, it can't be picked up now. So, there's two possibilities. Either he was the source of all that power and he lost most of it between then and now..."

"Whoa, as strong as me!" Koomba exclaimed, whistling. "I guess he looks kinda strong."

"Or..." Kita awaited the continuation.

"Or there is someone even stronger." Kibatsu finished.

"This just keeps getting better." Kita growled. "So we got this strange kid here, maybe some other super power prowling about, and that traitorous Anzu, the real reason we're here in the first place. Not to mention the natives will want to kill us." She sighed, then gave the unconscious Trunks a long stare. "Could this one really be a Saiyan?"

"With no tail? And that hair?! That can't be right!" Koomba scoffed.

"If he is a Saiyan and we don't know him, maybe he is with the rebel Anzu." Kibatsu reasoned.

"We're taking him to camp regardless." Kita ordered. "We don't for sure if he is with Anzu but, whoever he is, we know he is a bad liar. He can't be my nephew."

"Silence! Silence everyone!" Koan yelled in his gruff aged voice as he took the seat at the head of the long table in the assembly hall.

The hall would normally serve for gatherings of the heads of the clans that make up the Jennai tribe. Now however, the Eldest of fifteen of the nineteen Tenkai tribes spread across planet Tenkusen were present, along with a number of their respective clan heads and other attendants. In all hundreds of people, all but one of them native Tenkai, crowded in the large clay building. The representatives of the four remaining tribes were still on their way.

Quickly but quietly, the assembled Tenkai followed Koan's lead and sat down around the giant table. The Eldest seated first, followed slowly by their closest entourage. The table had enough space for several dozen people. The rest stood grouped together by tribe. As the most aged of all the Eldest, and as head of the largest tribe, the Jennai, who housed the holiest Tenkai temple, Koan silently commanded the respect and obedience of all present, certainly of all the Tenkai people.

The only person who had no need to follow his suggestions was also the only non-Tenkai person present, Chikitot, who sat at the side of the wall to the far right of Koan, well in view of him. But she wouldn't speak up to him, or anyone else, in spite of her stature among the people. Chikitot arrived to the planet seven years ago on a clue for the Power Stones. She was adopted by the Tenkai as a miniature goddess for her abilities. They didn't need to know their full extent, but, even though she had all the appearances of a child, they could tell she was something special and revered her. Chikitot however merely nodded when Koan glanced briefly at her and he nodded back. The Tenkai needed to decide for themselves on a course of action while she was thinking of another solution.

"This cannot wait until the other tribes have arrived. They will have to accept what we decide, though I think they'll arrive at the same conclusions as us." Koan intoned gravely. "Let us recount these developments. Six days ago, space vessels started to appear in our skies and, shortly after, groups of tall, big people ventured to our villages. Calling themselves 'Saiyans', they spoke of finding one of their own here. That seems preposterous enough but they added that they wanted the Treasure of Power. We've heard they made similar inquiries around all our tribes. Here, as I imagine elsewhere, they were turned around swiftly. However, after a couple of days, these Saiyans have attacked our temples across our different tribes. Lives were lost! They are now a dangerous foreign threat, we will expunge them from our homes. Long ago our tribes warred amongst ourselves but now we Tenkai go to war united!" The multitude exploded in applause and cheers.

"I've brought almost all the warriors from my Wuhan tribe. We go to war besides the Jennai and all the Tenkai!" A muscular veiled Tenkai exclaimed as he jumped to his feet.

"The Jubba stand ready." A slender woman, with a blackened vertical scar on her right cheek, proclaimed.

M ore declarations came and the crowd cheered louder and louder, a war fever engulfing them all. Except of course for Chikitot, who sat calmly. She hadn't witnessed an intertribal war but she knew from their history they were a war like race. She quickly weighed the odds in her head. The Tenkai warriors numbered in the thousands. The Saiyans were likely only a few dozen, but they had better technology and weapons and several of them were likely super-powered. She shuddered thinking of at least two of the Saiyan women, who felt exceptionally strong. Chikitot herself was mostly useless in fighting as her powers, though unusual and clever, could only go so far in a combat situation. But she was determined to help in any way she could.

C hikitot gasped in surprise as her senses were overwhelmed. _Finally, my answer is near!_ She quickly glanced around the raucous room. Amid the tumult, plans were being made and orders quickly shouted out, with people rushing to comply. Chikitot reasoned the war with the Saiyans would be both bloody and uncertain, but the ace in her sleeve could tip the balance. She rushed outside to the bustling streets of Jennai, now far busier than ever with the members of the other tribes present. Everyone scrambled about but many took a moment to acknowledge her, some even to prostrate themselves, much to her annoyance.

"Goddess!" Someone cried out and Chikitot turned to three young Tenkai men running to her. The one who spoke was a head taller than the others and had a crop of short hair in a crest from his forehead all the way to the back of his head, ending in a knotted braid.

"Oh, Dogron, don't call me that again." Chikitot sighed. "And you're here for…?"

"Forgive me!" Dogron replied with a bow, eliciting a low growl from Chikitot. "Will you be leading us to war?"

"How come word got out so fast? The meeting barely finished. And no, not yet anyways, my skills are not made for fighting a powerful warrior race like the Saiyans."

"Our people will get the best of them, even if they have powers! We know how to fight with our hands and blades!" Dogron boasted.

"Then I suppose you should get ready with the others. You don't have weapons."

"Father won't let me unfortunately. My first real war…" The Tenkai lamented.

"And you're looking forward to that?... Well, if you don't have anything interesting to do, you can come with me for a while."

"Can we come too?" One of Dogron's companions exclaimed.

"Is that alright with you, Goddess? These are my younger brothers, Tufan and Haijin." Dogron asked, identifying the one who spoke as Tufan. Both were somewhat shorter than Dogron and had short hair. While Tufan was thin, Haijin looked a bit fuller.

"If you can fly, that's fine. Now we must hurry, I'm expecting someone very important." Chikitot replied.

Not long after, they were all in the air. As fast as they could go, the flight took over a dozen hours, over dense forests, a deep sea and arid ridges. Settlements had long dwindled into nothing when Chikitot finally made them stop in a yellow grassland. Despite being tired, Chikitot insisted on staying awake and they talked as they passed the time. She realized the younger brothers were at least as superstitious as Dogron, if not more. They were both just below the age to be eligible as warriors. Though Dogron was of age, their father Nushi, a clan chieftain in the Jennai, wanted to keep him out of heavy fighting for now.

"Even before you came, it had been a few years since there's been a real war. And not a lot of foreigners." Dogron half-explained, half-wondered aloud.

"Yes, I knew some of that." Chikitot sighed. She scanned the sky, partly in her own thoughts and half-listening to her companions. "And these Saiyans, I heard of them. They are supposed to be strong warriors, though I thought they were almost completely extinct. There shouldn't be even this many. And there's something troubling about them being here…"

"Goddess, d-do you think we can beat them back?" Tufan stammered, staring at her intently.

"Probably not." Chikitot threw out absent-mindedly as she continued to look upwards.

"What?!" The three brothers exclaimed simultaneously.

"Oh, you expected something else? I must be honest, it could be tough, unless you're prepared for lots of deaths."

"We are very tough, we will endure no matter the cost." Dogron boasted.

"And with you on our side, we can win, right?" Tufan smiled expectandly.

"What?! No!" Chikitot shot and glared. The three Tenkai snapped their mouths shut. "I'm not much of a fighter, at least your Elders know better than you overexcited kids! However, I'm not leaving you alone, I did have something in mind…" Just then, a loud roaring sound could be heard approaching from high above. They looked up to see a comet hurtling towards them.

"A comet? Or a meteor? Or… another alien ship with big people?!" Haijin murmured.

"No, our salvation." Chikitot smiled, then she frowned in concentration. "Blast, I'm still off by a couple of degrees. He could end up far." She threw her hands in front of her towards the flaming object and concentrated.

"What are you doing, Goddess? Are you using your powers to change that thing's course? I thought your powers only worked on living things." Dogron inquired.

"Exactly. Now let me focus. Just a small change to his sense of direction…" Chikitot retorted. She grunted in effort and sweat pearled on her forehead as she kept locked on the 'comet'. It slightly aligned itself more in their direction and crashed with a loud explosion just ahead of them. "Finally! What I've been working on…"

"What is this?" Tufan fretted nervously.

"No, who. I said it before." Chikitot corrected as they rushed to the landing site. They waited in anticipation as the smoke thrown up dissipated. "Now I finally get to meet this… Piccolo?!" Chikitot's smile faded as the form cleared itself to reveal an unconscious Namek.

The young Godling stared in confusion and tried processing her thoughts very slowly. _This can't be. I felt a tremendous power deep in space and guided it here to help against the Saiyans. This was it?_

The three Tenkai also looked on, their jaws dropped. They were shocked that a living being could survive that. However, Tufan's expression slowly morphed into a look of sheer terror.

"This-this can't be!" Tufan yelled out. "Strange attackers? A war like no other for the Treasure of Power? The one that will bring doom, the green giant of destruction, the Emerald Ender!" He screamed and fled in panic as the others looked on in shock.

"Curses!" Chikitot cried out. "What was that about?!" She turned back to the Namek lying in the ground. "And this? Nameks can't be this powerful…"

END OF PART TWO


End file.
